At the end of last year, the American Journal of Managed Care published a study — co-authored by researchers at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) — analyzing the use of electronic prescriptions for controlled substances.  This is the first study on this subject since the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) revised its regulations in 2010 to allow e-prescribing of controlled substances.  The authors also published a blog post about the study on the ONC’s website.

The study analyzed e-prescribing trends using data from July 2012 to December 2013.  During this time, the study found significant growth in the number of providers and pharmacies capable of e-prescribing or accepting e-prescriptions of controlled substances.  However, growth among pharmacies far outpaced growth among prescribers.  Specifically, as of December 2013, approximately one-third of pharmacies were equipped to handle e-prescriptions of controlled substances, while only 1% of prescribers were able to e-prescribe controlled substances.

The study speculated that the slower growth among prescribers may be caused by a lack of trust in the technology and/or the lack of incentives for prescribers to undergo the requisite identity-proofing and employ a software system compliant with DEA requirements in order to e-prescribe controlled substances.  Although pharmacies must also comply with DEA requirements, the study points out that pharmacies have a stronger business interest in e-prescribing: “if they do not keep up with the competition, they may lose business.”

The pace of growth in the use of e-prescribing for controlled substances may see increased attention from policymakers and regulators moving forward.  Abuse of prescription drugs is an increasingly important issue nationally, and e-prescribing seems to be a safer way to prescribe and track widely-abused drugs.

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Covington Digital Health Team

Stakeholders across the healthcare, technology and communications industries seek to harness the power of data and information technology to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their products, solutions and services, create new and cutting-edge innovations, and achieve better outcomes for patients. Partnering with…

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